Yesterday T and J drove us on a tour of The Barossa Valley with its many vineyards and 'Cellar Doors' (wine tastings). Many of the largest well known wine producers are here, like Jacob's Creek and McGuigan's and we managed a few tastings of course! The countryside is beautiful with hundreds of acres of vines giving a lush appearance to an otherwise dry landscape. we left Adelaide this morning to head towards The Great Ocean Road (GOR) via Hahndorf, a Germanic town founded in 1839 by Lutherans. A tourist attraction nowadays with many preserved buildings and souvenir shops but managing to maintain a link to its origins. David finally embraced his inner Aussie and bought himself at bushman's hat at the shop in the attached photo.
Drove the 400 odd kilometres down to Mount Gambier. We stopped at a barely inhabited community for a comfort break (The public toilets roadside are pretty good) to pee to the sound of Christmas carols being played in the toilets! Bizarre.
Mount Gambier is a beautiful city and the second biggest in South Aus after Adelaide. It's big attraction is the 'Blue Lake' an extinct volcanic crater filled with water which turns a vivid blue during the summer and loses its brightness during the winter. The crater has a circumference of 3.5 kms.